In copending patent application Ser. No. 08/237,816, entitled MACHINE FOR DISPENSING CHILLED ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE HAVING IMPROVED COOLING CIRCUIT AND BOTTLE MOUNTING SYSTEM, filed May 4, 1994, a machine is disclosed which dispenses specialty alcoholic beverage while cooling the beverage to temperatures below freezing, i.e. about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. The specialty beverage is a viscous liqueur that is periodically withdrawn from bottles while 1) insuring that the bottles are displayed on the housing in an inclined (e.g. slanted or inverted) orientation to allow the viscous liquid to flow therefrom, 2) insuring that the dispensed liqueur is adequately cooled even in times of high usage and dispensing activity, and 3) insuring adequate control when dispensing the viscous beverage. The machine also controls delivery of viscous alcoholic beverages such as a thick liqueur using a small self-contained housing that may be placed on a tabletop of a bar and similar public environment where ornamental bottles are to be displayed.
The machine has a housing forming an enclosure and an outer surface. A refrigeration cooling unit is contained within the housing and includes a compressor, condenser and evaporator coil. A beverage faucet is mounted on the outer surface of the housing. A bottle mount is positioned on the top surface of the housing and mounts at least one inclined, preferably inverted, beverage container thereon. A manifold is mounted in the housing to receive beverage from the inclined beverage container. A beverage delivery tube is contained within the housing and is operatively connected to the beverage faucet and manifold for delivering beverage from containers and manifold to the beverage faucet.
A portion of the beverage delivery tube extends coaxially within the evaporator coil to form a chilled beverage line for chilling any beverage flowing through the beverage delivery tube. The chilled beverage line includes an egress point from which the beverage delivery tube exits from the evaporator coil. The egress point is positioned at a vertical height approximate to the vertical height of the beverage faucet. The chilled beverage line is preferably horizontally oriented and positioned within the top portion of the housing as a looped coil, and is at a vertical height. This facilitates maintenance of the system because the chilled beverage line can then be purged during cleaning and maintenance. The horizontal configuration also helps prevent air pockets from forming. A pump is interposed within the beverage delivery tube and pumps beverage to the beverage faucet. An electrical switch actuates on-off operation of the pump. The bottles are mounted on bottle mounts in an inclined, preferably inverted, orientation on top of the housing.
In this machine, the chilled beverage line must extend a sufficient distance to allow sufficient cooling of a beverage to about fifteen degrees Fahrenheit. It also is horizontally oriented along the top portion of the housing. A pump must also be included within the housing. These components and beverage line configuration take up greater space, requiring a larger housing, and requiring greater tabletop space when the housing is positioned on a bar or other table. The pump also requires energy and generates more heat within the enclosure thus requiring greater cooling energy from the compressor and other components.
It is desirable to use gravity flow of the beverage so that a beverage pump is not required. Additionally, without a coaxially arranged beverage delivery tube placed in the enclosure and requiring long tube lengths for cooling, it would be possible to reduce the amount of required housing enclosure area.